Over 15,000 Indian tech workers have moved to Canada in the span of just 12 months, from April 2022 to March 2023, implying that the country has emerged as a global magnet for tech industry talent, according to a report.
This surge in migration makes India the largest contributor to Canada’s expanding tech workforce, as highlighted by a recent joint report from The Technology Councils of North America (TECNA) and Canada’s Tech Network (CTN). Of the more than 32,000 technology professionals who sought greener pastures, 15,097 chose Canada as their work base, underscoring the nation’s allure in the tech industry.
Vice Chairperson of TECNA, Yvonne Pilon said that the report helps Canadians to better understand the state of their workforce ecosystem. “Given the radical shortfall in tech workers to fill available jobs in recent years, it’s imperative we understand migration movements to better serve our members, the innovation workforce, and the broader technology ecosystem,” Pilon stated.
India was followed on the top contributors list by Nigeria (1,808), Brazil (1,675), Ukraine (1,207), Philippines (1,129) and Iran (1,046). Experts attribute this phenomenon to Canada’s immigration-friendly policies and its advantage of competitive edge in terms of labour costs, as per a report. The rise of remote work, fuelled by the pandemic, has led to tech talent moving away from traditional tech hubs.
Insights revealed by the report
Mississauga and Montreal are the two Canadian cities that stand out from the rest as the prime beneficiaries of this influx of global tech talent. Mississauga which boasts a robust community of nearly 1,000 IT firms and an impressive workforce of over 300,000 tech experts, has become a major hub for tech innovation. Meanwhile, Montreal has also witnessed a remarkable 31 per cent growth in its tech ecosystem between 2015 and 2020.
The said report, titled ‘Tech Workforce Trends: The Migration of Tech Workers and Tech Jobs Since the Pandemic’, sheds light on the significance of the recent surge in tech migration. It reveals that the substantial migration of tech workers fulfils the critical demand for skilled professionals, a need that has become even more pronounced amid the ongoing global talent scarcity. This influx of tech talent is seen as a promising indicator of a prosperous future for Canada’s tech industry. “The large migration of tech workers fills the need for skilled workers amid an ongoing global talent shortage and points to a hopeful and prosperous future for Canada’s tech occupation workforce,” the report said.
The same report revealed that in 2022, Canada had more than 400,000 software developers in the country and the growth of the national tech workforce has not been limited to the bigger Canadian markets. In fact, smaller provinces like Saskatchewan & Newfoundland and Labrador have experienced the most rapid growth in their tech workforces, with a year-over-year growth of 16.3 per cent. “Windsor, Ontario has seen the highest growth in tech workers over the past year [28%], followed by Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and Timmins, Ontario. This shift is reflective of broader workforce trends, with largely remote tech workers moving away from major metropolitan areas toward more rural locations,” said the report.
The report also focused on Canada’s effort to attract global tech talent. Tech Talent Strategy and category-based Express Entry draws will contribute immensely to the growth of the tech sector in Canada as it will help in attracting more number of skilled workers into the country from across the globe.
Canada’s tech industry on the rise
Canada’s tech ecosystem is on the fast track to immense growth according to a recent industry outlook report published by the Business Development Bank of Canada. Revenues in the tech sector grew at an average annual pace of 9.4 per cent between 2015 and 2020, and in 2022, Canada had more than 400,000 software developers in the country.
The report also found that the most sought-after tech skills in Canada include customer experience, analytical skills, data science, Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Jira, GitHub, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
The migration data further gives out intriguing details about the flow of tech workers. As per the data collected, Mississauga welcomed 1,900 tech professionals from across the world, while Montreal witnessed the arrival of 959 tech experts during the specified period from April 2022 to March 2023. Although the majority of the influx is attributed to countries like India, Nigeria, and Brazil, the report also highlights the growing attraction of Canadian tech opportunities for South American talent. Notably, Canada is drawing tech professionals, including Indians from major US cities such as Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
In a bid to attract the top tech talent to Canada, the government has started giving open work permits for H1-B visa holders from the US. Indians, who account for nearly 75% of H1-B visa holders in the US, are the major beneficiaries of this scheme.
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